A week in the life of an estate agent
By Nick
I am a 15-year-old school student attending Beechen Cliff School. For my work experience I chose to spend a week at the estate agent Madison Oakley in their sales department on Moorland Road. I did this because I believed it would be a fun and fresh opportunity to meet new people whilst also being something I could utilize and expand my knowledge. Some of my family members are also involved in letting property, which further sparked my interest in this subject and caused me to reach out to Madison Oakley.
To be honest, before coming to Madison Oakley, I had my doubts. My main idea of estate agents was that they mostly sat down all day on phone calls and doing paperwork. However, even though there was an aspect of this, most of the week I was out on viewings, market appraisals and general miscellaneous tasks all around the local area.
On the first day, I met the team and was introduced to the basics of Reapit (the software used for everything). I was also taught specific techniques and website resources used to estimate the price of a house – this was then put to the test once I had to create a Best-Price-Guide for a flat we were evaluating the cost of later.
On the second day, I was beginning to learn and understand the terminology used in property and used it to help me during two viewings. I also learned about specific aspects of a property that would cause its value to appreciate or depreciate and employed this in a market appraisal.
Wednesday was probably the most enjoyable day of the week for me as I got the opportunity to visit a repossessed house that had been abandoned for several months. I also measured and helped take photos of a property for it to go onto the market.
On Thursday, I estimated, visited, and helped evaluate the price of two different properties and fixed/updated various sign boards in need of repair.
On the final day, I completed some miscellaneous tasks, helped finish off the brochure for the property we measured up on Weds, went on a market appraisal, and wrote this blog.
Overall, this week has given me a new perspective on estate agencies and has led me to learn a lot more of the terminology used in property that I didn’t know, allowing me to understand much more about the subject. I have also met so many new people, gained a lot more information about how to value a house, and how to engage, please, and assist a client as much as possible.
Carey says – we’ve really enjoyed having Nick with us for the week and several of our clients have commented on how helpful & engaging he has been on viewings and valuations. He has been out on a wide variety of our appointments each day and has cheerfully mucked in with any task he has been given. Well done Nick and we hope you enjoyed a week in the life of an estate agent!
